Saudi gives $10m for Islamic law center at Yale

A Saudi businessman donates $10 million to Yale Law School to establish what school officials hope will become the country’s top center for the study of Islamic law.

Abdallah S. Kamel makes the award after meetings with university representatives including Yale President Peter Salovey. Kamel, chief executive of the Dallah Albaraka Group banking and real estate enterprise in Saudi Arabia, has sponsored a lecture series on Islamic law for the last three years.

Yale officials say the Abdallah S. Kamel Center for the Study of Islamic Law and Civilization reflects a growing interest at Yale and other institutions in Islamic law, history and culture.

For two decades, Harvard Law School has had its own Islamic legal studies program, established with support from the Saudi king.

— AP